Kang Daniel won his trial against malicious YouTuber Sojang.

On September 11, Kang Daniel's label ARA stated the singer won his first trial against YouTuber Sojang, but the label will move forward with a civil suit for damages. ARA stated, "Whether or not the shameless defendant decides to appeal, we'll proceed with a civil lawsuit for 100 million won ($74701.57 USD) separate from the criminal proceedings."

Kang Daniel and ARA initially filed a criminal complaint against Sojang in July of 2022 for spreading baseless false information and malicious rumors that severely damaged Kang Daniel's reputation.

ARA's full statement is as follows:

"Hello, this is ARA.

We are providing an update on the legal response regarding our artist.

Together with law firm LIWU, we initially filed a criminal complaint against Sojang in July 2022 for spreading baseless false information and malicious rumors that severely damaged the reputation of our artist. We won the first trial today (September 11th).

While this outcome is expected, the two-year period leading up to the first trial verdict has caused unimaginable pain to the artist and fans.

We were the first in Korea to file a complaint with the Seocho Police Station, but the investigation was halted due to an unidentified suspect.

After confirming the identity, we requested the resumption of the investigation in July 2023, and the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office issued a summary indictment with a 3 million won ($2241.05 USD) fine. However, we strongly requested a formal trial, which brought Sojang to court and ultimately revealed them. The court considered the case so serious that it imposed a fine of 10 million won ($7470.16 USD), more than three times the prosecution’s request.

We are filing a 100 million won civil lawsuit regardless of the defendant’s appeal. This is a minimal defensive measure to prevent further harm to innocent victims and to ensure that such incidents do not recur. We believe that malicious defamation and profit-making through it should face strong legal consequences, as such actions leave scars that do not easily heal even after all legal procedures are complete.

We will continue to do our best to protect the rights of the artist and fans. We plan to pursue all possible legal actions without settlement in similar cases.

Thank you."

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